Elephants, Elephants Everywhere!

As everyone knows by now, Amelia loves elephants or "chang" (as they are called in Thai) and on Monday she got to see a lot of the big, gentle creatures up close and personal. We traveled to the Thai Elephant Conservation Center, part of the National Elephant Institute in Lampang, which is a city about an hour away. It's a beautiful drive through the rolling hills of Northern Thailand and it was a sunny, clear morning before the heat of the day descended and when the clouds were still low enough to cover the mountain tops.

When we first got there, we fed the elephants banana and sugar cane, the first of many times we fed them that day. Amelia liked the idea of it, but when it came time to actually put the food in the elephant's trunk, she squirmed away. She did NOT like being so close to the trunks!

Next, we watched the elephants take a bath and Amelia thought that was funny, especially when their mahouts dunked their heads under water. She liked seeing the elephants get wet, too. And on their way out of the water, one of the BIG elephants sprayed us with its trunk! We didn't get too wet and Amelia LOVES telling the story about what the elephant after its bath. But she still didn't want to get too close for pictures. (That's why she's pointing at the ground, wanting to get DOWN in one of the pictures where I'm holding her.)

After the bath was the elephant show, during which the elephants demonstrate all the skills they have such as rolling logs, showing off how they sleep and even painting pictures. The show was a bit long for a toddler and she didn't want to sit still very much, preferring to wander around and look at everyone's shoes. She loves shoes. Even when there are elephants around.

There's also an elephant hospital at the conservation center where vets treat elephants with severe injuries. Some of the elephants are pretty badly hurt from stepping on land mines planted in the border regions (which I'm pretty sure is a illegal.) A few months ago, one elephant at this very hospial was fitted with a prosthetic leg - the first of its kind in the world for an elephant. We rode by the hospital but didn't walk around it because I was afraid Amelia would be upset to see elephants with big "boo boos."

After a little lunch, we did some shopping and Amelia picked out this elephant hat, which she loves wearing. She was so worn out from our elephant adventure that she fell asleep before we even left the parking lot to head home. It was a great day and Amelia will tell you all about it when she sees you again!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

On October 15, we celebrated my Dad's 70th birthday! (The big day was the main reason Amelia and I came to Thailand this year.) For the special day, Amelia wore a red and white check dress that I wore 36 years ago on my second birthday. And my Mom found a picture of me wearing the dress. So I took a picture of Amelia wearing the dress holding the picture of me wearing the dress. Pretty cool, huh?

We started the day with a lovely brunch at the Meridien hotel in Chiang Mai, thanks to Uncle B (who knows all the good restaurants in town.) In the evening, we had about 15 friends and family members over for dinner. Because Amelia goes to bed about 7:30 p.m. or 8 p.m., we sang "Happy Birthday" and blew out the candles BEFORE dinner, which everyone thought was fun. Amelia especially liked it because 1) She loves blowing out candles and 2) She got to eat birthday cake (a slice Boston cream pie) for dinner. YUMMY!

It was so special to be able to celebrate this milestone with my Dad. He and Amelia are having so much fun together. She calls him "Papa," though it sounds more like "Baba" and LOVES it when he sings songs to her and tells stories. Seeing them together is as sweet as a slice of his delicious birthday cake.

The BEACH!

In our short visit to Hua Hin, we went to several different parts of the beach. When my Mom was little, she and her family would spend several weeks a year in Hua Hin during their summer break. There was only one hotel then and virtually no tourists. Now, luxury hotels line the beach and there are restaurants, shops, malls and yes, a Starbucks and McDonalds in town.

Right in front of our hotel, the beach was a bit crowded, but there was still plenty of sand for digging. Uncle B took us to two other parts of the beach - one where Amelia saw horses up close for the first time. (Notice how the horse and Amelia have the same hairstyle.) She really thought it was cool to see the horse's nose go in and out while breathing. The third beach was much wider and not as crowded and Amelia, Grandma and Grandpa had so much fun digging in the sand and going in the water! I didn't go in the water as much as I would have liked to because the sandy bottom is so uneven I was afraid I would injure my foot again. Plus, it's hard to navigate the beach with a cane.

Amelia absolutely loved all the new things that came with going to a Thai beach - the horses, the sand, the calm water (although she didn't put her head under water in the sea, only in the pool.) The one thing she didn't like was sand in her shoes. (I understand why.) She was quite bothered by it and was only satisfied when her feet and sandals were completely clean at the end of the day!

Here are just a few pictures of our stay in Hua Hin, one we will always remember!

The Hua Hin Hilton

At the hotel, our 11th floor room had a balcony overlooking the Gulf of Siam and in the distance was Khao Yai, a famous mountain. It was just beautiful. One morning, it was clear enough to see the sun rise over the water and Amelia loved shouting out all the different colors in the sky: PINK! YELLOW! BLUE! (Yes, we were up before sunrise every morning. Even on vacation, there's no sleeping in with a toddler.)

We began the day with a scrumptious breakfast buffet overlooking the swimming pool and the beach. Usually, we made it to the pool twice a day, which Amelia loved because she could stand in the kiddie pool. She still dunked her head under water, but she did it while standing up. So cute. Most folks sitting around the pool were so surprised to see someone so little happily going under water. And there were BIG elephant statues near the pool which provided endless conversation for Amelia.

In the group picture, you'll see Uncle B and Auntie Pusadee, who was able to get away from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok for a night. It was great having her along, too!

Getting to the BEACH! (And back)

The internet is up and running and I finally have time to post some pictures from the "BEACH!" as Amelia likes to say. We had a FABULOUS time in Hua Hin. Thank you Uncle B for arranging our wonderful stay at the Hua Hin Hilton with breathtaking views of the Gulf of Siam from our room and for organizing wonderful meals and daily outings! I can't say it enough - Amelia LOVED the BEACH! She continues to talk about all the fun things we did while we were there.

To get the BEACH! from Chiang Mai, we flew an hour to Bangkok, then drove for 2 1/2 hours in a rented van. Amelia continues to be SUCH a good traveler. Here are some pictures of us at the airport (me in a wheelchair with Amelia on my lap and Abby Cadabby on her lap) and Amelia in her car seat in the van. Every time we travel, Abby Caddaby comes with us, stuffed in Amelia's little backpack. It's the cutest thing ever. The only drawback is when the bag with Abby Cadabby has to go through the X-ray machine at the airport. That usually brings so many tears that next time we fly, I'm going to ask the security folks if Amelia can hold Abby Cadabby instead of sending her through the machine.

Swimming Princess

The weather has been really nice for the past couple of days so we headed to the Chiang Mai Sports Club to show Grandma and Grandpa Amelia's new swimming skills. As it turns out, Amelia has grown so much in the past year that she can now comfortably walk around the kiddie pool without even getting her head wet. We had to go in the BIIIIGGGG pool (as Amelia likes to say) to practice jumping in and swimming to the wall.

One day as we were leaving, Na Ning and Pi Ice made a flower crown for Amelia from these fragrant flowers that had fallen from the beautiful trees all around. She was quite pleased with her crown and she LOVES to smell all the flowers she picks, whether or not they smell sweet.

Look Da Da! Ride 'Em Elephants!

Dear Da Da,

A few days ago, I rode my first elephant! But don't worry, it wasn't a REAL elephant. We were visiting Uncle Bill at San Sai orchard and he has so many elephant statues around his house. So I climbed up on one and Grandpa took these pictures.

I even tried to make my nose long like an elephant's trunk! Can you see that picture?

I LOVED running through the orchard and picking as many flowers as I could - yellow, pink, orange, white and my favorite - PURPLE! It was so much fun!

I wish you were here, too. Mama says I can ride a real elephant someday, but only with you to hold on to me.

Love,
Amelia

20 Months Old!

Everyday, I think to myself "Where did the time go?" I just cannot believe our gorgeous, funny, smart little girl is almost two-years-old already! All you parents out there know exactly what I mean.

Tracy took these photos a few days before we left Ocoee. (You can see my crutches in the background of one of the photos.) Aren't the pictures adorable?

I forgot to share one CUTE thing about Amelia in Thailand - she now tries to do ballet. Her good friend Pi Ice (that is "older sister" Ice in Thai) had been showing Amelia some ballet steps from the class she takes. And Amelia tries to imitate her. It is SO CUTE! Amelia raises her hands above her head, gets on her tippy toes and does this funny thing with her arms. And, of course, we all clap and laugh.

Hello, Thailand (again)

I'm not sure why, but the pictures didn't post the first time. So, here they are again!